Sunday, August 13, 2017

August 13 – We've enjoyed our summer in Canton, OH, and have kept pretty busy catching up with family and friends. Marsha has filled every available minute with her girlfriends and of course her crafts. She makes Paul feel like “a lazy sit-around-and-do-nothing guy.”

Paul did complete his residing of our summer home. He's been slowly working his way around the structure over the last three years, replacing windows, fascia, soffit, and the vinyl siding. You may notice in the second picture he removed the garage window before re-doing the siding. No use spending money on that window (there are two other windows in the front of the garage) and fewer windows helps with security!

Dave and Kelly (son-in-law and oldest daughter) keep volunteering to help, so we took them up on their offer and put them to work power washing the fence and part of the house. Amazing how dirty things get in just a couple years. Dang acid rain I guess.....:-) Notice we pulled off the cleaning WITHOUT killing any of Marsha's landscaping!

Paul and Dave work together to get the job done.

Then it was on to the house.

Lucky Ohio hasn't experienced the unusual heat much of the country has had this summer. Paul lived up in the attic for a couple days adding insulation. You can see in the photo that the insulation wasn't even to the top of the ceiling joists. Yep...that's Paul squeezed in there. He's installing vent baffles before insulating to allow air to circulate up through the soffit and out the ridge vent.

Before

This photo shows the amount of insulation he blew in with the help of Marsha's brother, Rick. He loaded it up with nearly 18” of cellulose insulation. Did I mention it gets COLD in Ohio in the winter! That's why we get the heck out of here and head south!

After

Now “on to the roof!” Thankfully for Paul, Marsha said, “no way” when it came to him replacing the roof. There were two layers of shingles to be removed, a couple soft spots to repair, ridge vents to install and a chimney to flash. Paul can't believe Marsha felt he was getting too old to tackle such a project. Jeesh!

Being close to Amish Country and many awesome contractors, we decided to hire a crew for this task. Five Amish workers came in and completed the entire job in one day! After Paul's close inspection, he said it was one of the best completed jobs he ever hired anyone to do.

They removed the two layers of old shingles before lunch. The replacements were delivered by another Amish company and placed on the roof just when they were needed.

You can see there was a soft spot around the chimney that needed repaired. Thank goodness we didn't have a leak when we were away for the winter!

Marsha was thrilled no plants or shrubbery was destroyed. The guys covered everything and did a magnificent job cleaning up when finished.

The finished roof.

That's only part of our summer accomplishments. We have more to cover in a future blog, and we have some trips to report on. So check back as we catch up on our “days of summer!”

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.

I never want to own another home! All these projects make me crazy. Glad you hired out the roof, Paul. Good you kept him off the roof, Marsha:) Your yard looks wonderful. The grass is so green!! You sure have made some awesome improvements in the house. How nice that you didn't get the heat some areas received this summer.

Wow...you two don't let any grass grow under your feet! You've got to feel good about all of your accomplishments this summer in spite of earlier kinks in Paul's work schedule. Nicely done. You'll be as snug as a bug in a rug with all that insulation! There sure is no room for storage up there. The work ethic of the Amish is unsurpassed. In and out in a day...amazing. Your yard looks beautiful! You've got to be really pleased with your summer home after all your improvements. You've certainly got 'the eye' for what a place could be when you buy a mid-century 'fixer upper!' You could have done a pilot for HGTV!

We were wondering where you went. Glad it was that you were busy and not sick. It's good to be busy but some jobs are just easier done by the pros. Hoping to hear from you again soon.Be Safe and Enjoy!

I have no firsthand knowledge of the Amish but they have a reputation for being good works and real craftsmen. I'm glad hiring them worked well for you. Of course, free family labor is great to have as well.

Wow!! That's a lot of work you guys (and kids) have been up to this summer!! And you aren't through telling us all of it!! You will be ready for travel and relaxation in a very little while!! I am so glad your plants and landscaping wasn't damaged....it is beautiful!!Paul is doing a fantastic job on that siding! Not an easy job but it looks great!!!

Lookin' good. We had a crew of Mexican workers that replaced our roof after a hail storm and they were fantastic. They accomplished everything in the same day also. Very impressed with how clean they kept everything. It feels so good when you find that kind of help. Enough with the work - time for play.

SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL

SEARCH WHERESWEAVER

OUR 2008 CARRIAGE CAMEO

ABOUT US

102 RAINBOW DR. 57, LIVINGSTON, TX 77399-1002
We are Marsha and Paul Weaver with our cat, Bella.
After three years of full-time RV living, we bought a home in Canton, Ohio. We are now part-time travelers using our home as a base to see the Northern U.S. in the summer and traveling South for the Winter.
We travel in a 2008 Carriage Cameo 5th Wheel towed by a 2010 Ford 350 DRW.
We are both retired school teachers from Jackson Township/Canton, Ohio which is about fifty miles south of Cleveland.
Come along with us as we travel around the U.S.A.!